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Fate of the Ottoman Empire
Fate of the Ottoman Empire This page is being rewritten. Nothing here is strictly canon. The Central Powers initially brought the Ottoman Empire into the First World War, despite the fervent protestations of the Nesarian Empire, their long-standing rival. The Nesarian Empire at first completely refused to aid the Ottomans in any way, although this hugely angered the Germans and Austro-Hungarians, and the Nesarian Empire began to help the Ottomans against the British in Egypt a month after the war began. In 1914, Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks living in Ottoman territory became heavily persecuted, and this persecution quickly escalated into a genocide (the poor treatment of Greeks had begun as early as 1913). This hugely angered the Greeks, the Nesarian Empire and the Armenian population of the Nesarian Empire. The Nesarian Empire once again cut off support with the Ottomans and was almost completely hostile with them. Although it was hugely frustrating to the other Central Powers, they understood the reasoning behind the Empire's actions. The genocides also forced many Armenians to emigrate to Nesarian Armenia, and many Assyrians emigrated to both Greece and Nesarian Armenia. The Greeks, which were neutral in the war, were more than willing to fight in order to save their ethnic and religious brethren. The Greco-Turkish War then began. It is sometimes loosely considered as another theatre of the First World War, but the two are separate. Greece declaring war on the Ottomans was the catalyst for the Nesarian Empire to demand that the Ottomans leave the Central Powers alliance. After much deliberation, Germany and Austria-Hungary conceded. The Ottoman Empire was then in the unfortunate position of being at war with Greece, still at war with the Allies and the Nesarian Empire being openly hostile (but not at war). While some of the Allies called for immediate peace with the Ottomans, both the British and French wanted parts of the Ottoman Empire for themselves, and the Russians were all too happy to see the Ottomans collapse, even if it did meant their old rival of the Nesarian Empire benefitted from it. The Greeks pushed several miles into Ottoman land in Anatolia but became bogged down in a stalemate, whereas the British experienced a relatively more mobile style of warfare in the desert. The Nesarian Empire sent arms and finances to Greece as well as various rebel factions within the Ottoman Empire, especially the Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians, and the British heavily encouraged the Arabs to revolt. The British and Nesarians sometimes worked in the same place for the same goal, paradoxically fighting together against a common enemy when elsewhere they were fighting each other. The Ottoman Empire lasted longer than expected but ultimately could not stand, and when the Greeks broke through the Ottoman lines and the whole Empire began to crumble in 1917, the Nesarian Empire entered the war, although their contribution was limited - only 10,000 men. The Ottomans were forced to surrender to the Greeks in May, and a peace treaty was signed in June, although they had not surrendered to the Allies. They gave up Armenian land to the Nesarian Empire (which was immediately put under the jurisdiction of the autonomous region of Nesarian Armenia) and Pontus to Greece, as well as making their Arabian territories along the Persian gulf independent (which would later be incorporated into Saudi Arabia). They also gave large reparations to Greece. The Ottoman Empire fell to the Allies in 1918, along with the Nesarian Empire. Syria was taken by France, Kuwait, Palestine and Jordan were taken by Britain, and some land along the Red Sea was given to Saudi Arabia. Iraq also became British territory and later became independent after a series of complications. The Allies planned to further partition Anatolia, but the military invasion was defeated by Atatürk, who proceeded to re-invigorate the new Republic of Turkey over the following years. Cyprus became part of Greece in 1922 when Greece offered to buy it for the equivalent of £100,000,000. Britain, not wanting to see another war and short on cash, accepted the relatively low asking price.